Note: Should have put this at the start of the story but I forgot! This fiction is slightly AU as the timeframe is post season three (so Martin and Sam have split up and Jack is divorced) but without the shooting and Viv's health problems and there is no Elena and definitely no Anne!
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'When did you say you moved in?' Martin stared around Maggie's apartment.
'Friday last week'
He shook his head laughing at her, 'I was in my apartment three months before I'd unpacked all of my boxes; you've been here 5 days and there isn't a box in sight'
She grinned at him and handed him a bottle of wine and a corkscrew, 'Here, make yourself useful,' he took the bottle from her and deftly removed the cork and handed the opened bottle back to her.
She poured two glasses of wine, handing one to Martin and gave him a rueful look, 'well, my mother decided to help me move in and you know how she is; the best way of avoiding a long discussion about how tragic it is that I'm fading into lonely spinsterhood was to work as hard as possible and ignore her.'
Martin laughed, 'lonely spinsterhood; you're not serious?'
'Oh I am. I had dinner with my parents and your's on my last weekend in DC,' she rolled her eyes as Martin winced in sympathy, 'when our fathers headed out to the terrace to smoke their cigars our mothers started a conversation about how a woman's fertility declines with age and how 'statistics' show that if a woman isn't in a committed relationship by the time she's 30 she has a greatly decreased chance of ever getting married'
'Ouch'
Maggie shook her head, 'ever since Robert and I split up my mother is in overdrive; she even got me some details about an 'upmarket dating agency' and suggested I sign up.'
Martin looked incredulous; 'I'm not surprised you moved to New York, I'm only surprised you didn't put in a transfer request to Hawaii'
'Actually, I applied to the New York ADA's office because Robert and I would have been living here; after we split up I withdrew the request then I heard that they were offering me the US Attorneys job, but in New York rather than Washington. No way I was going to turn that down and New York's a big city', she paused a second and met his eyes, 'anyway, you were here so I knew I'd know someone.'
For a moment their eyes locked then she smiled, 'Diner's ready, you hungry?'
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Over dinner they caught up with all that had been happening in their work lives but Martin noticed that Maggie avoided any mention of Robert and the broken engagement; eventually he decided to test the water
'So obviously my mother told me that you and Robert had broken off the engagement….'
'and broke my mothers heart to boot' Maggie had a wry smile on her face.
'Yeh, she mentioned that too,' he hesitated a moment, 'look I don't want to pry but you guys looked good together so,' he paused again but she didn't say anything, instead she was staring at the table fiddling with a coaster, he continued cautiously, 'I guess I'm just asking if you are OK?'
She looked up and smiled at him, 'To be honest, by the time we announced the engagement was off the relationship had been over for a couple of months. He changed when he moved here; it was like he became a different person. It was hard when it all started to go wrong, but truthfully I've moved past it now. Anyway, it gave me time to realise what I really want in a relationship and I don't think it's being married to someone who wants to be in politics.'
'Does he know you've moved here?'
'I don't know, I haven't told him but I'm sure someone will'
'You've not stayed in touch then?'
'No not really,' she frowned briefly then seemingly shaking off whatever thoughts had bothered her she looked up and grinned at him, 'anyway, enough about me what about you?'
'Ah, well I'm afraid I did the classic,' he paused and saw Maggie raise her eyebrows questioningly, 'I dated someone from the office'
'Hmm, how'd that work out for you then?' she was grinning at him now
'Well, pretty good for a while but it was complicated and I guess the ending was never in doubt but we've stayed friends'
She nodded and then looked at him thoughtfully, 'did you get grilled when you got back from the park this afternoon?'
'Oh yeh'
'And? What did you tell them?'
'I told them that we dated in our senior year and the summer before college and that we have stayed in touch since'
She stared at him and then started to laugh, 'so you didn't mention our on/off on/off relationship through college and that the summer you graduated we took a road trip along the west coast having as much sex as we possibly could?'
'No, I thought I'd leave those bits out'
They were both laughing; 'You know I found my photo album of that trip when I was packing up to move, it's on the shelf if you want to have a look'
'The PG or the R rated version?'
'PG, in case my mother got hold of it,' she paused then, shooting him a suggestive look, 'the R rated ones I keep in the bedroom', with that she stood up, picked up the empty plates and headed back to the kitchen.
Martin felt his stomach tighten and a shiver run through him; she was definitely flirting with him and he knew her well enough to be certain that she wouldn't do that just to amuse herself for an evening. He smiled to himself; since she had left him in the park this afternoon he had been struggling to think about anything other than her……………
She arrived back at the table with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies laughing when she saw his face; 'I knew you'd prefer these over anything else so I dug the recipe out.'
Martin lent forward and took a cookie giving her a thoughtful look, 'You don't make these unless you want something,' she had an offended look on her face but before she could refute this as an outrageous slander he continued, 'Maggie I can list you a dozen times you've successfully bribed me with these cookies so come on, what is it you want?' any sting in his words was removed by the grin on his face
'I can't believe that you said that, can't it just be that I'm having dinner with a close friend and I wanted to do something nice for him' she tried to look offended but he could see that she was struggling not to laugh.
'Absolutely, but we both know it's not the case, don't we?'
She stared at him through narrowed eyes; 'OK Mr FBI hotshot, you tell me what I want then'
He looked smugly at her, 'you want a date'
'A date?'
'Yeh, a date……it happens all the time, one look and that's it. I knew you'd be no different'
Her eyes had narrowed to slits now as she stared intently at him. He gave her a small hurt smile, 'I don't mind, I mean he's a friend and you're a friend and I'll get used to it ….eventually….'
He saw a look of total confusion cross her face; he patted her hand consolingly and earned himself a look that had him struggling to hold back the laughter; 'so, if you have a pen and paper I'll write down his number for you although when I tell him you're interested I think he'll be straight on the phone to you', he looked expectantly at her and then looked around the room as if searching for a pen and paper.
'Who the hell are you talking about?'
Martin fought a battle inside himself not to laugh and managed to put a confused look on his face; 'well Danny of course'
'Danny? Who's Dan…….you mean the guy you work with?'
Martin couldn't contain the laughter any more; she sat watching him eyes still narrowed then he saw her smile sweetly at him and he stopped laughing in a hurry, he remembered that look as well; 'Hmm, now you mention it he was very sexy; and he looks as if he would be good for lots and lots of very energetic uncomplicated sex, which, you know, after being celibate for way too long, would be great, so if you want to give me his number…' she stood up as if searching for a pen and paper.
Martin grabbed her from behind, one arm holding her around her waist and the other hand used to catch hold of her wrists, 'Er, I don't think so'
She turned slightly so she could see him 'You suggested it, I have to admit I hadn't really given him much thought but as you clearly aren't interested….' She shot him a look that left him feeling distinctly hot under the collar.
'Tell me why you made the cookies?'
'You tell me'
Holding her close was making him remember just how good they had been together; she was leaning back against him and he knew there was no way she wasn't aware of just how 'interested' he was by now
He turned her to face him, keeping one hand around her waist, the other sliding into her hair and caressing the back of her neck. He searched her eyes for any sign that he was going too fast but only saw a heat in them to match the heat he was feeling. She dropped her eyes for a moment and stared at his lips and then raised them to stare into his eyes again; Martin felt as if the air had been sucked from his lungs, the distance between them closed and their lips met in a fierce kiss that had Martin feeling as if his knees would give way.
Suddenly she stepped away and held out her hand to him; 'come and see the bedroom'
